Educating Students on Wildlife Sampling Methods and Determining Prey Use of Mesocarnivores at Crater Lake National Park
Project ID: P18AC00651
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: Oregon State University
Fiscal Year: 2018
Initial Funding: $5,767
Total Funding: $5,767
Project Type: Education
Project Disciplines: Biological
National Park: Crater Lake National Park
Principal Investigator: Gumtow-Farrior, Daniel
Agreement Technical Representative: Mohren, Sean
Abstract: Crater Lake National Park (CRLA or the Park) is home to a diversity of wildlife species that includes both eastern and western cascade species from high and low elevations. Each year, the NPS wildlife team at CRLA employs seasonal wildlife technicians to assist in sampling wildlife species in the park for a broad range of purposes. These include meeting Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act requirements, inventorying species to determine their presence within CRLA, and conducting research to help determine the effects of management actions on wildlife.
In this project, CRLA wildlife staff will work closely with OSU to recruit and educate undergraduate students on wildlife sampling techniques, and to collect and analyze data to help determine wildlife predator-prey relationships. CRLA is home to two mesocarnivore species that are currently in jeopardy, the fisher and the Sierra Nevada red fox. The fisher is a rare species currently under review for listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The Sierra Nevada red fox is a rare subspecies of fox that was thought to only occur in two locations in California when it was petitioned to be listed in 2011. Recent surveys have documented individuals in Oregon including at CRLA.
This partnership with the OSU Cascades Campus in Bend, OR seeks to provide wildlife students with the skills they will need to be competitive in today’s job market, and to provide the public with a skilled wildlife workforce to help meet future wildlife management staffing demands. This project endeavors to help OSU-Cascades meet their desired goals for the wildlife students that attend, and to provide much-needed information on prey use by mesocarnivore species that can be used to better manage wildlife in the Park for public enjoyment.
B. Objectives
Investigators from the OSU and NPS staff will collaborate to accomplish the following specific objectives:
1. Improve the knowledges and abilities of students in wildlife field sampling techniques, and elevate their professional responsibility skills for competitive employment upon graduation.
2. Determine the dietary niche breadth and relative occurrence of prey for Sierra Nevada red fox and fisher in CRLA.
Deliverables: